Swiss company New Energy Solutions will begin construction of four solar farms in Iran in March, with a combined capacity of 120 MW, as Iran remains solar’s ultimate unknown quantity.January 12, 2017 Ilias TsagasA spokesman for New Energy Solutions GmbH (NES) has told pv magazine that the company will soon begin construction of four photovoltaic projects in Iran, each with a capacity of 30 MW. NES will work with an AustrianEPC company, and local companies Silk Road Energy Technology and MEWE Middle East Water & Environment to complete the construction, which is due to take place from March until SeptemberRemuneration systemUpon completion of the construction phase, NES will own the projects, which will then be connected to Iran’s national grid by operator Tavanir. The generated power, NES added, will be purchased by Iran’s Renewable Energy Organisation (SUNA), which is part of Iran’s energy ministry and is the state institution responsible for renewable energies in the country. Tavanir will be responsible for the metering.“SUNA, based on data from Tavanir, calculates the electricity production every six months and pays accordingly, so the payments are protected by the state, and this is one of the safest systems of remuneration,” commented NES spokesperson,Feed-in tariffs and state guarantees NES said that each of the 30 MW solar farms will receive a feed-in tariff (FIT) of €0.15265 per kWh, which is the current FIT awarded to PV projects by SUNA. FITs for projects using a higher share of local content will receive a higher tariff, added NES.According to NES, Iran’s profitable FITs, alongside the government-assured letter-of-credit payment and various state guarantees for foreign investors, are currently attracting foreign solar energy companies to the country.Regarding state guarantees specifically, the NES spokesperson said that “Iran’s Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act grants investment protection in the country, and in case of difficulties, the owners can also call international arbitration of their choice, usually Vienna. This procedure is expressly granted by Suna.”Apart from the four 30 MW solar farms, for which pv magazine understands all necessary licensing has been completed, NES is currently working on two more projects in Iran of 10 MW and 25 MW, respectively. --- ---...